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upstart writes:

Boston Dynamics releases video of Atlas robot doing parkour:

In the video[#1], two Atlas robots navigate jumps and steps of varying heights, vaulting over and running along a balance beam before ending the routine with two backflips a piece.

It's more than most humans can do, but the team at Boston Dynamics explain that the robots aren't intelligently navigating an unfamiliar course. They've been programmed and trained to complete it.

"It's not the robot just magically deciding to do parkour," chief technology officer Aaron Saunders said.

"It's kind of a choreographed routine, much like a skateboard video, or a parkour video, where it's an athlete that's practised these moves.

[...] The behind-the-scenes peek[#2] at how the often viral videos are made shows the stumbles and fumbles that often result when making a 175cm, 75kg robot do parkour.

[...] While the routines are rehearsed and pre-programmed, Atlas has become more capable at assessing its own environment and its movements now are much more based on perception than in previous videos, Boston Dynamics said.

Videos on YouTube #1 (1m6s) and #2 (5m50s).

Original Submission